He Said, She Said.

In class today, a few very interesting topics were discussed including the way police react to a victim of rape and the differences between how drunken men and women are viewed.  While reading Missoula by Jon Krakauer it became concerning to me when investigators would brush off accusations of rape as if the women were just making things up.  Questions were asked like:

“What were you wearing?”

“How much did you have to drink?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Why were you out partying?”

These questions are completely irrelevant to what happened to the women in the book as well as women all over the world.  It doesn’t matter what they were wearing, drinking, if they have boyfriends, or if they’re single.  Rape is rape and it should be taken very seriously.   One of the most fascinating points made during the class was that if someone’s car or personal belongings are stolen, no one hesitates to call the police.  On the other hand, when someone is raped or sexually assaulted in any way, they often wait for an extended period of time.

It is also important to take a look at how drunken men and women are viewed differently within society.  We talked in class about how it is more normal to see men drunk in public, but when women drink it is thought of as risky or irresponsible.  This is certainly a common belief, but it is not something that I would agree with.  Viewing a drunk woman as irresponsible takes their credibility away when something like rape or sexual assault does happen to them.  Whether you are a man or a woman, drinking alcohol can lead to irresponsible behavior due to lowered inhibitions, but this does not qualify as an excuse for raping or sexually assaulting someone.  The biggest problem with alcohol is that people use it as a reason for why they did something, but this needs to end.